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I lived in Montreal (PQ) until last year and am now in the washington DC area. I have to say that the capital region s*cks. It is true that there are some bike paths starting nowhere and leading nowhere, but as soon as you want to use your bike for real transportation, you have to ride on some of those nasty highways. Also... Washington is a maze.

In Montreal streets follow a grid scheme and most of them are fun by bike with enough room between parked vehicles and traffic to ride. Anything under 10km is faster by bike that with any other transportation.

Bicycles belong to the road, not to those poorly designed bike paths populated with dogs...

I'm disappointed that the Washington Post did not contact the League of American Bicyclists.

I was on a review panel for our local LAB application, and I was appalled at the criteria they applied. The LAB's so-called "Bicycle Friendly Cities" are, in my opinion, interested only in cities that match their preferred lobbying profile, and NOT with nominating cities that are friendly, or even safe, for bicyclists.

About twenty miles south of Atlanta, Georgia is a shady little suburb called Peachtree City. It's a strange and beautiful little town. The population is officially under 40,000, but because of the inter-connectedness of Atlanta's suburbs it lacks a genuine small town vibe. There are a couple of good bike shops, a plethora of good restaurants, and a half-dozen golf courses. (Golf was quite obviously a central concern when the town was founded.) Peachtree City is very much a planned community. Philadelphians and Bostonians may take such things for granted, but no part of Georgia had seen a planned community before this place sprang up in the 1960s.

The entire city is crisscrossed with multi-use paths. The paths are filled not only with walkers, joggers, children, and dogs on long leashes, but also with golf carts. Yes, golf carts. People here drive them around like cars. Some people in fact own only a golf cart and not a real car. They go grocery shopping in their golf carts. They go out to eat in them. Those lucky enough to work in town commute in them. (It is a driving culture and most people work too close to the city to reasonably take anything other than an automobile.) The paths extend far and wide. The network links together residential roads in such a way that you can cut through areas that would otherwise be dead ends, allowing you to avoid heavily-trafficked streets. A map of the paths can be found here: http://www.peachtree-city.org/index.aspx?NID=350

This place isn't like a "real" cycling town. But if you are a cyclist and you get trapped in Atlanta, this is the best place to be. Georgia in general is a horrible place to cycle. The roads are fine. It's the drivers who are evil. This weird little city on the southside, with its perfectly manicured lawns and distinct Stepford vibe, is the only place in Atlanta where you can safely straddle your bike and roll around having fun. I realize this doesn't make it a 'Best Cycling City' like Portland or Madison. But I figured that at some point one of our members will end up moving to Atlanta for a job and have no idea what to expect. If you want to ride, Peachtree City is your best option.

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul MN are very cyclist friendly, especially around the U of M but many of the suburbs and recreational parks and lakes in the area have caught on too.

My vote for number one has to go to Fargo ND which is going all out to promote cycling and other healthy lifestyles. Wide MUPs been added throughout the city and are being included in all new development, but, beyond that, the city has restriped many of the main arteries through the city with well marked bike lanes and downtown there are signs everywhere that state "Bike may use full lane". There are nice bike racks everywhere in much of the city both in public places and in front of businesses. There are three separate high quality bike shops and an active bicycle co-op, several cycling clubs, numerous parks and trails, including long uninterupted paths along the river. There is even a cyclocross/MTB park and a skateboard/freecycling park. There are bicycle mounted police who are also active in the cycling community and don't hesitate to ticket anyone harrassing riders or illegally crossing/driving in the bike lanes. It doesn't get the publicity of some of the bigger cities, but for absolute bike friendliness, Fargo should be at the top of the list.

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Those who say it can't be done should stand aside for those who are doing it

I live in Sunnyvale, California & commute into downtown San Jose. Coming from New England & Kansas I am used to living in areas not all that friendly to cyclists, but this region as a whole, from Davis & Sacramento down to Santa Cruz and back up to San Rafael.. the whole region is going bike it seams... I can't go anywhere without seeing someone on a bike, and more often then not it's several in a row. Bike lanes are nearly everywhere as well.. I joined the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition because I want to do my part to make sure it stays this way if not make it a whole lot better...

Missoula, Montana is the most bike-friendly town I've ever lived in. In my experience almost all drivers are very careful and considerate when passing me, giving me plenty of space if they can, even drivers of big semi trucks. And many drivers will actually stop for bicyclists and pedestrians to let you cross at intersections and bike/ped path crossings or even entering a road from a driveway or parking lot.

Of course some of it is the law, but there does seem to be a genuine popular culture of respect for bicyclists here.

I think it's hard to beat cities in the Pacific Northwest like Portland, Eugene, or Corvallis, Or. But I'll throw in a vote for Long Beach, Ca. Downtown there are several new separately curbed Bike Lanes, along with wide Green Lanes, that encourage drivers to share space with cyclists. The City is also framed on the East and West by the L.A and San Gabriel River Bikeways. There are mapped scenic bikeways throughout with good signage. There's even a street co-named Bike Blvd, with no stop signs, through the affluent Belmont Heights area. There's also the Bike Path along the beach. Throw in some of the best weather in the US, and you've got something in Long Beach.

Hermosa Beach is one of the best in opinion, biased opinion. However, http://www.motionbicycle.com/ is a shop that prides itself on being one of the top bicycles shops in the Hermosa area, AND I absolutely love those guys! Adam is really cool, an I think the owner was there too. Anyways, they were all great and it ads to Hermosa being the best bicycle city.

I visit the Carmel/Monterrey Calif area regularly due to relatives. Over the years, I have found some great routes in the area, oftentimes incorporating parts of the Pebble Beach roads, which you can ride on free on a bike but cost $10 for cars! That always feels good. I just got a map and made up routes. It's a hilly area, though.

I live in Klamath Falls, Oregon. You don't see many bikes in town, because the separate bike trails that generally follow canals get the cyclists. One can travel from Oregon Institute of Technology diagonally across the entire city and suburbs with short hops on city streets to get wherever you want to go. Getting out of town is easy too since the trails connect to the OC&E Woods Line State Trail a 105 mile Rail to Trail conversion that runs from Klamath Falls eastward out into the woods. All the trails are asphalt paved (except the OC&E past the hamlet of Olene), smooth and clean.

Just south of town there are miles and miles of relatively flat and smooth rural roads with essentially no traffic - just for exercise.